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For decades, women have borne most of the burden of contraception. However, the long-term use of female contraceptive pills could increase the risk of side effects such as blood clots or bad cancer. Now, inspired by colored layered badtails, researchers have developed a reversible male contraceptive in the medium term. They report their results in the newspaper ACS Nano.
Common forms of male contraception are either short-term (condoms) or long-term (vasectomy). However, condoms can fail and vasectomies, although effective, are often not reversible. Xiaolei Wang and her colleagues wanted to develop a form of reversible male contraception in the medium term. They were inspired by badtails, such as the Galaxy, that bartenders prepare by depositing colored liquids in a glbad. If the beverage is agitated or heated, the layers combine into a uniform liquid. Wang and his colleagues wondered if they could use a similar approach to inject layers of material to block the vas deferens, the cbad that carries sperm from the testicle to the urethra. The application of heat would cause the mixing of the layers, their decomposition and the "disconnection of the pipeline".
The team tested their approach in male rats. They then injected four layers of material into the vas deferens: a hydrogel that forms a physical barrier to sperm; gold nanoparticles, which heat up when irradiated by near infrared light; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid (EDTA), a chemical that breaks down the hydrogel and also destroys spermatozoa; and finally, another layer of gold nanoparticles. The injected materials prevented the rats from impregnating the females for more than 2 months. However, when researchers lit a near-infrared lamp on the rats for a few minutes, the layers mixed and dissolved, allowing the animals to produce offspring. Researchers say that while this pilot experiment is promising, more research is needed to verify the safety of materials.
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Material provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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